Welcome To Lud

[JD01]

JD, i listened to this in the hammock on my phone yesterday but didn't comment because it was my phone and it sounded like a decent mix on it. But it is a pretty rad song dude. Love the guitar tone here for heavy sounds. I like that it isn't that shitty metal mid scooped sound.

On my cans here this morning for a critical listen and I don't really have many nits on this one JD. I feel like the whole think has a wee bit of a dark veil over the whole thing compared to your normal offerings. I suspect that is just adjusting to your new KRK's and that will get sorted out a bit as you tweak this mix. I don't think the darkness is anyone thing it is laying over the whole mix.

I couldn't get that lead guitar quiet enough.

that lead is hella annoying after you start singing. no need of those sustained notes trailing off full bore into the verse. use a volume envelope to trail it off or just a simple fade out at the end of the wave form.

[BBvideo=560,315]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hl9X3CVkdLQ[/BBvideo]

I'm noticing your production is reminiscent of CKY's.

Yes! The production, writing and arrangements on this song smacks of CKY in their prime.

Cheers Shan, I'll look at brightening up those guitars tomorrow.
On that verse 2 lead line... I'll see how quiet I can make it before it just sounds shit.

[WhiskeyJack]

JD, i listened to this in the hammock on my phone yesterday but didn't comment because it was my phone and it sounded like a decent mix on it. But it is a pretty rad song dude. Love the guitar tone here for heavy sounds. I like that it isn't that shitty metal mid scooped sound.

On my cans here this morning for a critical listen and I don't really have many nits on this one JD. I feel like the whole think has a wee bit of a dark veil over the whole thing compared to your normal offerings. I suspect that is just adjusting to your new KRK's and that will get sorted out a bit as you tweak this mix. I don't think the darkness is anyone thing it is laying over the whole mix.



that lead is hella annoying after you start singing. no need of those sustained notes trailing off full bore into the verse. use a volume envelope to trail it off or just a simple fade out at the end of the wave form.

[BBvideo=560,315]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hl9X3CVkdLQ[/BBvideo]





Yes! The production, writing and arrangements on this song smacks of CKY in their prime.

Cheers Shan, I'll look at brightening up those guitars tomorrow.
On that verse 2 lead line... I'll see how quiet I can make it before it just sounds shit.

It wouldn't think it would sound like shit. Try to fade /drop it out like you would trailing off notes in any other solo or like sustained feedback coming out of a solo into a verse so it's not eating your vocals or dropping the levels of the main shreddy solo leading up to it.

[vomitHatSteve]

Who's CKY? I'll look them up. More melodic vocals would be lovely - I'm just not a singer though.

How are you on this forum without an intimate knowledge of the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater soundtracks?

[BBvideo=560,315]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14eVFQeegxQ[/BBvideo]

[WhiskeyJack]

Who's CKY? I'll look them up. More melodic vocals would be lovely - I'm just not a singer though.

How are you on this forum without an intimate knowledge of the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater soundtracks?

[BBvideo=560,315]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14eVFQeegxQ[/BBvideo]

I think i found them via Bam and the CKY videos. I missed the whole THPS game fad by a handful of years.

Which not sure if you any of have seen Bam lately but he due for a name change to Ham Margera. Looks like Phil now. Karma is a real bitch.

[vomitHatSteve]

I think i found them via Bam and the CKY videos. I missed the whole THPS game fad by a handful of years.

Which not sure if you any of have seen Bam lately but he due for a name change to Ham Margera. Looks like Phil now. Karma is a real bitch.

Lot of overlap there. Everyone in the Jackass crew were skaters.

Unsurprising that Bam would have put on weight as he aged. Last I saw a picture of him, he was trending that way.

[Greg_L]

Got a dark and muddy overall feel to it, but the drums are very plasticky. It's a strange combination to have happening. The drums kind of sound like plastic buckets! Fix that. I think it's way beyond time for you to use some better drum samples or process what you got differently. The vocal phrasing is awkward in the verses but fine with the chorus. The guitars are a little dark but I think they'd be okay if the vocals were brighter and up in the mix more.

[JD01]

Got a dark and muddy overall feel to it, but the drums are very plasticky. It's a strange combination to have happening. The drums kind of sound like plastic buckets! Fix that. I think it's way beyond time for you to use some better drum samples or process what you got differently. The vocal phrasing is awkward in the verses but fine with the chorus. The guitars are a little dark but I think they'd be okay if the vocals were brighter and up in the mix more.

I was discussing this we bubba the other day. I'm probably gonna upgrade to Superior Drummer soon.
I found the verse vocal really hard, it's in an awkward time and it's actually got a melody. It's about a million takes stitched together.

Don't think there's much more that I can do with the drums from the processing point of view. This is just the basic EZ Drummer package.

[Armistice]

Got a dark and muddy overall feel to it, but the drums are very plasticky. It's a strange combination to have happening. The drums kind of sound like plastic buckets! Fix that. I think it's way beyond time for you to use some better drum samples or process what you got differently. The vocal phrasing is awkward in the verses but fine with the chorus. The guitars are a little dark but I think they'd be okay if the vocals were brighter and up in the mix more.

I'm probably gonna upgrade to Superior Drummer soon.

Beware... you might be overcome by the desire to go and replace the drums in everything you've ever done, like I'm sort of doing...

[JD01]

I'm probably gonna upgrade to Superior Drummer soon.

Beware... you might be overcome by the desire to go and replace the drums in everything you've ever done, like I'm sort of doing...

Yeah. I'm aware that might be a problem. I'm gonna avoid messing with the older punk songs! Unless it's very easy to switch things around.

[JD01]

Got a dark and muddy overall feel to it, but the drums are very plasticky. It's a strange combination to have happening. The drums kind of sound like plastic buckets! Fix that. I think it's way beyond time for you to use some better drum samples or process what you got differently. The vocal phrasing is awkward in the verses but fine with the chorus. The guitars are a little dark but I think they'd be okay if the vocals were brighter and up in the mix more.

Forgot to ask, any idea what's causing the dark muddy feel you're getting?

[Greg_L]

Forgot to ask, any idea what's causing the dark muddy feel you're getting?

It's just the overall mix. Dark and woofy. Lots of low end and low mid resonance happening in all the tracks. I just downloaded it and with just a few EQ tweaks it tightened up a bunch.

[JD01]

Forgot to ask, any idea what's causing the dark muddy feel you're getting?

It's just the overall mix. Dark and woofy. Lots of low end and low mid resonance happening in all the tracks. I just downloaded it and with just a few EQ tweaks it tightened up a bunch.

Cool, can you show me what you did. I'd like to try and see if I can a) hear the difference and b) replicate it

[Greg_L]

Cool, can you show me what you did. I'd like to try and see if I can a) hear the difference and b) replicate it

Sure but I closed it down already. Mrs_L is working from home and I can't be blasting your death metal right now.

I'll fire it up again around our lunch time.

[JD01]

Cool, can you show me what you did. I'd like to try and see if I can a) hear the difference and b) replicate it

Sure but I closed it down already. Mrs_L is working from home and I can't be blasting your death metal right now.

I'll fire it up again around our lunch time.

Cheers, I won't be able to work on it until later this evening anyway (which is about your lunchtime).
Just if you could just show me how it sounds and your EQ curve that would be great.

At the moment, this mix is the best I can do and I can't hear how I can make it better. I need to listen to what you've done and then toggle the various EQ points on and off so I can get used to hearing the effect that they have.

[Greg_L]

Cheers, I won't be able to work on it until later this evening anyway (which is about your lunchtime).
Just if you could just show me how it sounds and your EQ curve that would be great.

At the moment, this mix is the best I can do and I can't hear how I can make it better. I need to listen to what you've done and then toggle the various EQ points on and off so I can get used to hearing the effect that they have.

Yup no problem.

[WhiskeyJack]

Got a dark and muddy overall feel to it, but the drums are very plasticity. It's a strange combination to have happening. The drums kind of sound like plastic buckets! Fix that. I think it's way beyond time for you to use some better drum samples or process what you got differently. The vocal phrasing is awkward in the verses but fine with the chorus. The guitars are a little dark but I think they'd be okay if the vocals were brighter and up in the mix more.

Forgot to ask, any idea what's causing the dark muddy feel you're getting?

It's the KRK's. I told you that once already upthread. Granted i don't crank out new mixes at the rate everyone else does around here but i still know things

All my first draft mixes when i got my KRK's were instantly dark. They almost always had that same exact texture as yours does here, when i referenced them in the car, sound bar, ear buds, cans etc. It was always the same blanketed darkerish feel. After i got mine and posted a couple mixes on the forum i was at before HR way back, someone told me the exact same thing about adjusting their 5" KRK's. You are going to have to tweak the HF level dial on the back of your monitors down so that when you mix you compensate by bringing up the shimmery bits a little bit. That's what i had to do and still it's not perfect. I have to give it a bump out of muscle memory. And even still i always think anything i do is still dark. While it is a decent way to adjust higher frequencies you (maybe not yours specifically as it is newer and the dial may be a bit more detailed) I am still limited to only 4 options for he HF adjustments. -2db, -1db, Flat and +1db.

I'd start there with your next mix. Drop the HF levels and re EQ your stuff.

If i were a betting man i would guess [mention]Greg_L[/mention] was making some detailed adjustments largely in the 2-2.5khz and beyond ranges to tighten things up. Again, If i were also a betting man i would also guess if you were to put an EQ on your master buss and gave it a high shelf boost starting at the 2Khz range and nothing else, things would get way better for this mix.

It may also be the combination of the KRK thing and if you still have your monitors placed in the corners of your room? I know you don't have much room to work with you so you may only be at the mercy of those HF adjustments, and maybe adding a bit of corner trapping behind your monitors?

[Greg_L]

If i were a betting man i would guess @Greg_L was making some detailed adjustments largely in the 2-2.5khz and beyond ranges to tighten things up. Again, If i were also a betting man i would also guess if you were to put an EQ on your master buss and gave it a high shelf boost starting at the 2Khz range and nothing else, things would get way better for this mix.

Damn I could have taken that money!

I mostly just did sweeps and made cuts in the low end and low mids.

[WhiskeyJack]

If i were a betting man i would guess @Greg_L was making some detailed adjustments largely in the 2-2.5khz and beyond ranges to tighten things up. Again, If i were also a betting man i would also guess if you were to put an EQ on your master buss and gave it a high shelf boost starting at the 2Khz range and nothing else, things would get way better for this mix.

Damn I could have taken that money!

I mostly just did sweeps and made cuts in the low end and low mids.

LOL Good thing i am not a betting man.

[Lt. Bob]

It may also be the combination of the KRK thing and if you still have your monitors placed in the corners of your room? I know you don't have much room to work with you so you may only be at the mercy of those HF adjustments, and maybe adding a bit of corner trapping behind your monitors?

IF he's mixing things dark it's gonna be because he doesn't get enough bottom end out of the KRKs.
being in the corner usually adds to the bottom end so that may be the best place for them.

[Greg_L]

IF he's mixing things dark it's gonna be because he doesn't get enough bottom end out of the KRKs.
being in the corner usually adds to the bottom end so that may be the best place for them.

Right. He's mixed too much bottom end into the track which means in his mixing position he isn't getting enough low end information...or his sounds and ears are just crap.

Bur for real it's probably a combination of little speakers in a terrible spot in a terrible room. That's just something that has to be dealt with and overcome. They're also new speakers that he has to learn. None of this is a big deal. It can all be handled.